1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a presentation system for processing image data received from multiple clients including a master client and other clients to generate a composite image/frame that incorporates the imagery from the other clients with a master image from the master client for viewing on a shared display, such as an LCD projector or shared electronic whiteboard. An underlying image processing algorithm processes the additional imagery, which may be in the form of questions, comments, graphics, etc., along with the master image to generate the composite image that then appears on the shared display and perhaps also on each client's individual display. The system, and its algorithm, can be implemented in a variety of different ways, utilizing hardware, software, and/or networking resources.
2. Description of the Related Art
Business meetings/presentations with multiple attendees are quite common today. Typically, such meetings/presentations take place in a conference room where a lead presenter and one or more of the other attendees are gathered. Additional attendees may be remotely located but able to participate via telecommunication. The lead presenter may be making a presentation using an LCD projector that displays on screen images/slides created using PowerPoint® or any other presentation software. Other participants may occasionally have comments or questions concerning a particular slide. While some such comments/questions can be asked orally, it may be easier for a particular participant or more useful for the group as a whole, for that participant to augment his comment/question by adding imagery/annotations/video to the current displayed contents so that others can see.
The presentation system should be able to efficiently receive and process such secondary image data from multiple clients, some of which may be remotely located. Such a system should also be able to handle data exchange between a main server and a variety of clients having different configurations, including personal PCs, laptops, wireless handheld devices such as cell phones and PDAs, and to give any client the option to view a copy of the current screen contents on its own display of whatever size. In addition, such secondary image data needs to be merged so as to effectively augment the main image.